Charlottesville: Reminding Everyone That Racism Is Alive and Ugly

Last updated on: August 24, 2017 at 8:30 am by Randy Alcorn

Charlottesville: Reminding Everyone That Racism Is Alive and Ugly 2017-08-23T15:34:23-08:00 Randy Alcorn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

racial-unity-patheos

A lot of good things, and some not so good, have been said and written since the tragic events in Charlottesville last week. None have been much better, in my thinking, than what Russell Moore wrote. I appreciate this for its biblical base, prophetic nature, and clarity:

White supremacy angers Jesus, but does it anger his church?

As we watched the televised images of the noxious, violent white nationalist protests in Charlottesville this week, many of us felt our blood pressures rise. Many of us were, and are, angry. Many of us have been for some time about the resurgence of white supremacy and anti-Semitism we see all over the world.

In a time like this, Christians might ask whether we should, in fact, be angry. Should we not instead just conclude that this is what a fallen world is like and pray for the final judgment to come? If you are feeling distressed and heated, you have reason to be. White supremacy makes Jesus angry.

One of the many remarkable things about the picture we get of Jesus in the Gospels is how relatively calm he is. When his disciples are panicking in a life-threatening storm, Jesus is asleep. When villages reject the message, the apostles are angered but Jesus is not. Threatened with arrest and even execution, Jesus meets his accusers with tranquility. The Scriptures show us two things that make Jesus visibly angry: religious hypocrisy and racial supremacist ideology.

Read the rest on The Washington Post.

I also recommend Ed Stetzer’s article #Charlottesville, the Christian Response, and Your Church’s Call and Kevin DeYoung’s blog post It Wasn’t That Long Ago.

Racial unity—fostering interracial understanding, partnership, and unity in the Body of Christ, and in our greater communities—is one of the things close our ministry’s heart. We highly recommend John Perkin’s ministry, The John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation, Justice & Christian Community Development, one of those we support with our book royalties. John’s example of love, forgiveness, and Christ-centeredness has touched my life deeply, and I recently shared my foreword to his excellent new book, Dream With Me.

In a past blog post, Brotherhood and the Color of Our Skin, I highly recommended Benjamin Watson’s book Under Our Skin. Ben is an NFL tight-end with the Baltimore Ravens who spoke powerfully at January’s March for Life in Washington, D.C. Under Our Skin is a terrific book on race relationships. It’s now my go-to book on this subject, and I have read many.

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14).

Culture and Worldview

race

racism

unity

Previous Post

August 21, 2017

My Answers to Questions Asked by a 12-Year-Old Reader

Next Post

August 28, 2017 When Divine Appointments Don’t Feel Pleasant

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Me Animals Books Books and Resources Christ Christian Life Christians Past and Present Church Creation Culture and Worldview Doctrine and Theology Eternal Perspective Ministries Fun Grace and Truth Grief Happiness Heaven Marriage and Family Missions Money and Giving Persecuted Church Politics Prayer Prolife Salvation Sexual Purity Sovereignty and Free Will Suffering and Evil Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz